The mainstream howled in outrage over Hunter's 2004 column "John Wilkes Booth Was Right". Now, raising a toast to the assassin of an American president, is of course going too far. However, most of the things Jack Hunter wrote in that column are right on and all paleoconservatives would agree with them. Here are just a few examples:

"In fact, not only was Abraham Lincoln the worst President, but one of the worst figures in American history."

"Despite the Founding Fathers’ intentions Lincoln appointed himself dictator. For the first time in American history - civilian populations became military targets, private property was destroyed intentionally, and millions of Southerners of all ages, races and sexes were starved, raped, beaten and brutalized into submission."

"Lincoln’s war empowered the federal government beyond the wildest imaginations of any of the Founders and modern Americans can thank Abe Lincoln for laying the groundwork that led to the bloated Federal bureaucracy that taxes us to death today."

Knowing and recognizing the dark role of Abraham Lincoln in American history is one of the main aspects of the paleoconservative persuasion. Most paleos have at one point or another been subject to the vituperative attacks by the Left and the mainstream "Right" for expressing their views on "Honest Abe". I, for example, was called an "un-American" proto-Nazi by the despicable Larry Auster for daring to criticize his beloved Lincoln.

The correct response for paleos in the face of such criticism is to stand our ground and respond to the liberals' and neocons' hysteric howls with cold, hard historical facts. Surrendering to the commissars of political correctness will only empower them in their drive for our destruction.